found a small amp that doesn't sound like a small amp (NAD)

[s_mcsleazy]

i've got 2 friends who live in edinburgh and each of them wants me to help out in different projects. now as much as i love my rig, it's not exactly small car friendly, bedroom volume friendly, back friendly. my current rig is a 72 bassman, a 79 twin and a 70's 4x12. all of them run fanes. but you can guess why i might not want to carry that around.

i should also mention. one project is a garage punk kinda thing and the other is more singer/songwriter piano type stuff. i'm going to be using pedals for most my dirt BUT i still want a bit of amp breakup. all for under £500. so ideally like 10-20 watts, 10 or 12" speaker BUT 12" would be better for me.

i tried the AC10 and while it didn't sound "small" it didn't really fit with my style. the blackstar stuff i've tried is just really underwhelming, most of the small marshall amps do nothing for me. what else is really out there?

[JSett]

Having gone from a life of OR120s and big cabs down to small bedroom-level rocking I've learnt a few key lessons. 12 watts, tube, is still fucking loud in a home environment. I could barely turn my Princeton up past 5 or 6 without seriously pissing the neighbours off. My little Fender VibroChamp is also pretty damn loud.

I don't know what sort of music you make but if you lean towards the Fender sound then anything 6L6/6V6-based would probably be best. Under 500 quid?...

Peavey.

Pacer/Triumph/Classic. All way over your wattage desires (but have master-volumes) but can be found for cheap if you're patient and are bomb-proof. Or, go solid-state. There's lots of good sounding ones out there these days and they're light, reliable and usually pretty well priced.

[s_mcsleazy]

Having gone from a life of OR120s and big cabs down to small bedroom-level rocking I've learnt a few key lessons. 12 watts, tube, is still fucking loud in a home environment. I could barely turn my Princeton up past 5 or 6 without seriously pissing the neighbours off. My little Fender VibroChamp is also pretty damn loud.

I don't know what sort of music you make but if you lean towards the Fender sound then anything 6L6/6V6-based would probably be best. Under 500 quid?...

Peavey.

Pacer/Triumph/Classic. All way over your wattage desires (but have master-volumes) but can be found for cheap if you're patient and are bomb-proof. Or, go solid-state. There's lots of good sounding ones out there these days and they're light, reliable and usually pretty well priced.

i've had 12 watt tube amps that have been the best of both worlds. i used to use a epiphone valve jr where the circuit was voiced more like a champ and had a master volume that worked well for me.

[JSett]

i've had 12 watt tube amps that have been the best of both worlds. i used to use a epiphone valve jr where the circuit was voiced more like a champ and had a master volume that worked well for me.

I love 12w amps.... Just loud enough to gig with (if mic'd up for larger shows) and can be tamed for home use - but might sound a little anaemic.

Left-field suggestion - try and hunt out an Ampeg Jet 12. I've seen those go for sub-500 recently and those are fantastic little amps. Full of that Fender tone and are cool AF

[MechaBulletBill]

in my experience, traynor ygm3. leave the back on and it will bring some rumble even at 15-20w.

[noisepunk]

one of johnnysomersett's suggestions are probably it, but just to throw another choice at you...

i bought my wife one of these 15watt monoprice amps in 2020 (https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=611815)... total gamble, i love their headphones, but $250 for a tube amp is iffy no matter who's making it (and long term reliability is still tbd of course)... sounds great, probably a bit louder than my princeton (which i keep forgetting is 12 watts, not 22, so that would make sense). speaker isn't amazing, and i'm sure there are other mods you could do to make it pretty special, but out of the box it goes from completely clean to near-fuzz-like OD (i'm not a fan of it's cranked sound, but it's a nice OD up to that point), has a pretty interactive 4-control eq (t/m/b+overall tone knob, which i think works similarly to a presence knob) and decent sounding real spring reverb. it's also one of the lightest tube amps i've ever had to carry.

i don't think it's coming to scotland with us (probably get a used AC15), but i'm guessing you'd be making a decision before then anyway.

[jdr1014]

johnnysomersett's Ampeg Jet is an interesting suggestion - good sounding amps.

I'd suggest one of the Princeton Reverb reissues (used). I personally prefer the 65PRRI with the Jensen 10", but there also is the 68"Custom" SF model ( a little cheaper and "warmer") and several variants of the 65 with different 10" and 12" speakers.

[CorporateDisguise]

You could look for a Vox TB18. It was sorta like their take on a deluxe reverb. Never really caught on, and can be found for under 500.

You could also check out the Ampeg GVT 15. Really interesting amps.

[JSett]

You could look for a Vox TB18. It was sorta like their take on a deluxe reverb. Never really caught on, and can be found for under 500.

You could also check out the Ampeg GVT 15. Really interesting amps.

The GVT amps are great. I had a couple and loved them - they have a baxandall tone stack and are super flexible with the sounds that can come out. Kinda rare over here in the UK mind

[cpeck]

A 5E3 clone might fit the bill.

[parry]

Whatever 5-12 watter you end up getting - if you don't already have one, pick up a $40 wish KLON and stick that in front of it. Crank the amp, dial back the gain on the KLON (or set it to 'off') adjust treble and use the volume to attenuate to taste. I'm feeling confident it'll take a mediocre, boxy-sounding amp and give you the sound you're after (based on your description).

[tdbajus]

I play with a mercifully tasteful drummer confident in his masculinity, so my main amp these days is a Vibrolux clone made by Victoria for Chicago Music Exchange. They are about a grand new, and well worth waiting another month or two of eating rice and beans.

[Gavanti]

If you can find a reasonably priced non-reverb Princeton, those can be great with the right speaker. The other guitarist in my band plays with a MusicMan 212, but in the basement he really can’t crank it, and once he’s been convinced to turn it down so that everyone else has a shot, the little PNR with whatever dirt I want cuts right through, especially with a lead boost. It’s a pretty clean amp all the way up though so that might not be the thing.

[s_mcsleazy]

If you can find a reasonably priced non-reverb Princeton, those can be great with the right speaker. The other guitarist in my band plays with a MusicMan 212, but in the basement he really can’t crank it, and once he’s been convinced to turn it down so that everyone else has a shot, the little PNR with whatever dirt I want cuts right through, especially with a lead boost. It’s a pretty clean amp all the way up though so that might not be the thing.

not in the uk. last princeton non reverb i seen was £750. which is more than i spent on my twin.

[noisepunk]

If you can find a reasonably priced non-reverb Princeton, those can be great with the right speaker. The other guitarist in my band plays with a MusicMan 212, but in the basement he really can’t crank it, and once he’s been convinced to turn it down so that everyone else has a shot, the little PNR with whatever dirt I want cuts right through, especially with a lead boost. It’s a pretty clean amp all the way up though so that might not be the thing.

great little amps–i absolutely love mine–but budget constraints aside, they also don't always have much (if any) natural OD to them without mods.